| |
Nolan had done a good job of getting Dusk lost in the labyrinth of passages. It took him some time to find his way back and there were many close calls with the other bandits. But the night was growing late and the majority of them were already turning in as Dusk finally came to stand in front of Brand’s still-unlatched door. With the greatest care he pushed it open, careful to make sure he made no noise. When there was a sliver of light peeking between the edges, he looked inside. He could see Brand was still lying partially submerged in the steaming water, his head leaned back against the metal edge of the tub.
Dusk pushed the door open more so that the gap was just wide enough for him to slip through before he closed it behind him. The hinges squealed as it came to a halt and Dusk froze in place, waiting for the husky voice to ask what he was doing. But nothing came. Instead, as he stood facing the iron bound wood, he heard soft snores coming from behind him. Turning around he saw that Brand was fast asleep with one arm balancing on the edge of the tub precariously. He could still see the gem roped around his neck, twinkling in the dying firelight. Breathing a sigh of relief, Dusk crept forward, placing himself behind Brand, gripping Nolan’s blood stained dagger tightly in his hand.
With great care, Dusk pulled the hemp cord and crystal over Brand’s head and placed it around his own neck. The massive man began to stir, his arm slipping off the edge of the tub. With a quick motion Dusk wrapped his free hand around Brand’s mouth and yanked his head back, placing the blade on his throat. The man came awake wildly and began to thrash, but not before Dusk had carved a deep wound across the front of his neck. Blood sprayed in arcs, splattering the walls and sputtering as it fell across the hot coals in the fireplace. Brand clasped his hands around his throat and turned to see Dusk standing there, a blood drenched blade in his hands. He tried to speak, but his mouth was full of blood. Instead he merely gargled as he sank back into the now red water and Dusk watched as the light left his eyes.
He wanted to stay and revel in his triumph, but he knew there was no time to spare. Quickly he dashed about the room, grabbing whatever he could to make their attempted escape easier. Brand had given away or sold most of their items, including Lex’s sword, but Dusk knew he kept his own traveling gear in the chest at the foot of his bed. Tearing it open he quickly pulled out a leather pack and filled it with clothing enough for both him and Lex. It would be baggy, but it would suffice. He also stuffed a length of rope, a full coin purse, a tinderbox, small coils of wire, and two daggers into the bag. To his surprise he found the black leather boots Juniper had given him at the bottom of the chest along with the small bag of powdered Lumorium that Lex had kept from Alamond. He took them both.
Quickly he pulled his rags off and started to dress. Suddenly there was a deep, distant voice. Dusk looked around quickly for a place to hide, knowing he was about to be caught. As he leaned down to stuff himself under the bed, the voice went quiet. He waited for a few moments and when it did not return, he stood back up and continued to dress. It came back almost immediately, but this time he recognized it. Looking down he could see that the thin hexagonal gem was resting against the bare skin of his chest. He pulled it away for a moment, careful to only touch the cord and the voice vanished once more. Deciding he could learn to ignore it, he placed it back against his skin to keep it out of sight. He’d figure out what it meant later.
At last Dusk pulled on a thick leather belt. Seeing Brand’s sword leaning against the wall, he quickly secured it to the belt knowing that Lex would find some use for it. Dusk still wasn’t sure how to handle a weapon and he thought it would be more cumbersome than useful on his person. Dressed and with the satchel shouldered, he headed towards the door. His eyes flitted across the room and spotted a map sitting on top of a large table against one wall. He looked at it for a moment, realized he didn’t know how to read it, and folded it up before stuffing it in the pack. Hopefully Lex could make some sense of it. Stepping through the door, Dusk grabbed the muddy boots next to it. He locked it behind him with the iron key to make sure Brand’s body wasn’t discovered prematurely.
Through sheer luck he made it back to the dungeon without being seen or heard. Most of the men seemed to have gone off to bed for the night, but still he had to dodge more than one to make it to Lex. The bruised man stirred in the straw as he came down the stairs with a bundle of clothing in his hands. Dusk walked up, turned the key in the lock, and threw the door open, tossing the clothing on top of Lex.
“Quick! Get dressed!” Dusk whispered. “We’re leaving.”
“How did you ma—”
“There’s no time. We can talk about it later. Get dressed!”
Lex was ready in less than a minute, seemingly gaining back all his former strength with no care for his still healing wounds. Dusk threw the cell key into the straw and tossed him the sword.
“You can make more use of that than me. Stay close. I’ll lead the way.”
“What if we need the key?”
“We won’t. Only the rooms have doors.”
They crept up the stairs quietly and out the door, shutting it behind them. They were halfway down the hall before Rami came around the corner holding a tray with their rations for the night and a pitcher of fresh water. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks and stared at one another. Tension hung in the air until Lex brandished his sword, looking Rami dead in the eye.
“Let us through or I’ll cut you down,” Lex commanded, holding the sword aloft.
Rami stood there for a moment, looking him over. His eyes came to settle on the blade. “That’s the boss’s sword.” His eyes went wide. “What did you do to the boss?”
“Rami,” Dusk said in a gentle voice, putting his hand on Lex’s shoulder to calm him. “You’ve been so kind to us both. You deserve a better life than this. Why are you here in the first place?”
“I–” he took a moment to find his words, eyes flicking between the pair of them, then came to rest on the stones below his feet. “I have nowhere else to go. Brand gave me a home after my wife died and... I just never left.”
Dusk stepped forward cautiously. “What would she say about this Rami? Would she be happy with what you’re doing?”
“Don’t talk about her!” Rami yelled, throwing the platter to the floor. He lifted the pitcher and aimed it at Dusk. He ducked in time so that it sailed over his head and crashed into the wall. Dusk looked up, opening his mouth to speak, but the damage was done.
Rami charged for Dusk and quick as a flash, Lex sliced open his belly, spilling his guts out onto the floor. Rami cried out as he tried to pull them back into his body, as if it would somehow change his fate. With another quick motion, Lex drove the sword through Rami’s back. The massive man who had shown Dusk so much kindness looked up to him, the fear plain in his eyes. But within a moment the light was gone and he slumped forward onto the ground.
“Someone probably heard that. We need to go,” Lex stated plainly, cleaning his blade using Rami’s fawn colored cloak, staining the fur crimson.
“Yes sir,” Dusk heard himself say automatically.
He stood rooted to the spot, still reeling from what had happened. He’d wanted to take Rami with them, to save him, to release him from the life he’d fallen into, but instead he was dead on the floor because of his mistake. Another person died because he couldn’t say the right thing or make them understand his meaning. It was just like what happened to Nine. He felt numb.
“Now!” Lex barked, grabbing him by the arm.
Lex led the way with Dusk still lost in his thoughts. It was a few minutes before he realized that Lex had taken them completely the wrong way, having never seen the fortress with his own eyes. They turned around as Dusk took the lead, only to hear footsteps approaching. Quickly they pushed through an open door and closed it quietly behind them, leaning against it in case someone tried to enter. The footsteps came close, passed, and then faded away. Turning around they found themselves in a storage room of some kind. On one wall were rows of cheeses and vegetables stuffed into boxes or on tables. On the other side of the room there was a small crate filled with what looked to be spare weapons. Dusk couldn’t believe the room was left unlocked, but it was so deep in the fortress that thievery would have been almost impossible.
Dusk quickly began stuffing a few minor rations into the bag, making sure to keep it light enough to travel. Lex on the other hand, turned towards the weapons. Dusk could hear him rummaging through them and passing judgments on each of them in whispered tones.
Eventually he spoke up. “What kind of weapon do you use, Dusk?” he asked, rattling through the crate. “A sword? A bow? There’s even a crossbow in here.”
Pulling the satchel closed and slinging it over his shoulders, he walked over to where Lex stood hunched over the crate. “I don’t use anything. I don’t know how.”
“Really?”
“They don’t exactly teach slaves to wield weapons.”
“Be that as it may, every man should know how to handle a weapon. And you,” he glanced Dusk up and down, “you look like you’ve got more of a bowman’s build. How’s your eyesight?”
“I can see.”
“Well that’s a good start I guess,” Lex sighed with a smile. “Here, give me the pack and take this.”
Lex handed Dusk a long, elegantly shaped bow. The grip fit his hand nicely and felt strangely comfortable. The bow was made of a dark wood, the limbs curving backward gracefully towards the tips with a tight string that thrummed when Dusk plucked it, sending vibrations through his hand.
“You’re also going to need these.” Lex handed him a heavy quiver of the thick black arrows, and Dusk quickly shouldered them. “I’ll teach you how to use it later. For now just keep it close and if you have no other choice but to shoot, aim for the center of the body and pray.”
Dusk nodded and headed for the door. They stopped for only a moment to make sure they were alone. With Dusk leading the way they snuck down the winding passages. More than once Lex asked if they were lost, but Dusk shushed him and continued on. It took some time for him to figure out where Lex had taken them, but eventually he found the exterior door that always stood open. They slipped outside into the darkness, sticking to the shadows against the wall. Even with a small fire glowing in the center of the courtyard, they were able to keep to the edges and stay out of sight.
With no small amount of luck they slipped by a watchman in the courtyard who was slumped in a wooden chair, obviously asleep. As they passed through the gate both of them breathed a sigh of relief. Lex pointed to the grasslands to the south, a quizzical look on his face. Dusk shook his head. The grass would offer them no cover and Dusk needed to get back on the road to the west. They had walked southeast to get to The Break, so the road must lay to the north. Dusk gestured to the rope bridge that climbed upward across the great chasm. Even in the dark he watched a frightened look come across Lex’s face as he nodded.
The grass was already wet with dew and their breath created soft white clouds in front of them as they made their way to the edge of the cliff. There was a light breeze that caused the bridge to rock back and forth. Dusk felt a lump swelling in his throat as he looked over the edge, but he swallowed it back down with some effort. This was the only way to freedom. He could still feel the spark in his chest and it drove him forward, for good or ill, towards the destination Juniper had set for him.
As he stepped a foot onto the first wooden plank of the bridge, he heard a metallic clanging ring out, like a rusty bell. From behind him he heard a shouting. Glancing over his shoulder he saw a dark figure silhouetted against Gartha high in the sky. Of all the things to forget, he’d forgotten about the ever-present watchman on the turret.
Without a word, Dusk began to make his way across the bridge as quickly as he could, which was no more than a slow walk. The boards were slippery with moss and dew, making him afraid to run. Behind him Lex huffed impatiently. Dusk pulled himself to the side, clutching the rope for dear life.
“Go ahead of me,” he whispered urgently. “I’m fine, just go!”
Lex nodded and pushed past him, jogging across the bridge, causing it to bounce and shake as Dusk gripped the rope. He made it to the other side in moments and turned to face Dusk, beckoning him forward. Dusk held tightly and slowly began to walk forward again. He made it only a few steps before one of the planks gave a loud crack and fell out from under him. He cried out as he slipped downward, his foot going through the bridge. But he was holding tightly and pulled himself up, placing himself back on the wobbling pathway. His breaths came fast and ragged, like he’d been sprinting for a mile. The blood pounded in his ears as he slowly began to force himself across the bridge once more, holding on to the rope for dear life. By the time he finally made it to the other side, there were torches spilling out of the fortress gateway and running towards the bridge.
“We’ve gotta cut the rope!” Lex cried, pulling out his sword.
He gave it a mighty swing, but the blade merely sunk into the thick vines that wound around the rope and stretched out into open air. Lex continued to hack and chop, not making much headway through the hard twisting wood. Dusk saw the vines stretched down the rope, more than ten feet past the edge of the cliff. If they were going to be cut, he’d have to stand on the bridge to do it, which would probably kill him in the process. He tried to cut at the vines with his dagger, but nothing seemed to be making a difference. From behind him he heard Lex cursing and off to his right he could hear the unmistakable sounds of heavy boots on wooden planks. The men were shouting at them, getting closer with every passing second.
For a brief moment Dusk felt the gem against his skin grow warm and the voice that had been whispering in the back of his mind came forward. It spoke in a strange language that he didn’t understand, but with it came the unmistakable feeling of burning and fire, as if the flames were flowing through his own bloodstream. Dusk turned to the shouting voices and the bobbing torches that were less than thirty feet away. The voice spoke clearly, as if giving him commands. Without hesitation he held a hand aloft that suddenly glowed red with flames. They licked up the sides of his skin from elbow to fingertips. The flesh turned black and bubbled from the heat, but he felt no pain from it. He rotated his arm quickly in a large circle and thrust it forward, sending a whirling disc of fire like a thin blade shooting down the bridge. It collided with the men, setting anything it touched aflame. It cut through them like a knife and then struck the opposite end of the bridge, severing the ropes from their anchors.
The men cried out as they fell to the river far below, whether to their deaths or salvation from the flames, Dusk wasn’t sure. On the other side of the chasm the grass was alight and burning vigorously. Just beyond the fire stood the dark cloaked man that Brand had made a deal with earlier that night. His hood was down and he seemed to be surprised, if not astounded by what he had just witnessed. He zeroed in on Dusk, watching him intently.
The voice inside Dusk’s head suddenly struck him like a knife through his brain and he clapped his hands to his ears, crying out in pain. It was louder than anything he’d ever heard, like thunder enveloping his brain. The world in front of him swam and darkness began to close in around him. He felt himself begin to fall, but everything went black before he struck the ground.